Turn on the volume. Sit back and enjoy!

Did anyone watch the episode last night where Josh dies??? Why in the world did the writers kill him off? When, earlier in the episode, where he asks Mick to watch over Beth, it reminded me a little of Morelli and Ranger in the Stephanie Plum books…and I loved it!

I know it opens the path up to the relationship between Beth and Mick…but if I were writing the episode I would have either had Josh live or have Mick turn him into a vampire.

I watched a program this week all about happiness. Basically what I learned was that 50% of our happiness potential is determined by our genes, 10% by life circumstances (attractiveness, personal wealth etc.) and 40% we determine.

Happiness is a choice. Apparently sitting quietly for 30 minutes per day and contemplating kindness and compassion can make a difference in the happiness center of the brain. Gratitude, forgiveness and savoring the moment–all things our grandparents told us should be a part of our lives–really do make a difference in our personal happiness.

And the happiest places in the world–Denmark!

I think I’m a happy person. On a scale of 1-10, I would say that I’m a 9. I’ve always looked on the bright side and still do.

How about you? On a scale of 1-10, how would you rank your own happiness???

Sometimes it’s good to pause and think about all the things in life that give you pleasure and make you smile. Today I offer a miscellaneous list of things that bring me joy.

I love…
* the way The Professor loves me
* how my Sydney kitty loves her full-body massage that only Mommy can give
* bright nail polish with lots of sparkle
* apple with peanut butter or cheese
* great character-driven fiction, whether it be in movie, on TV or in books
* the smell of newborn babies
* the big, blue Texas sky
* the color green
* coconut
* receiving emails from readers
* crossword puzzles
* Mexican food
* The Professor’s smile with his special dimples
* kitties that have to sit in your lap RIGHT NOW!
* talking books with other book lovers
* going shopping with my mother
* walking by myself with my iPOD
* walking with The Professor
* lunch with friends
* developing a new book idea
* songs that make me soar
* my toes
* the scent of fresh laundry
* taking a nap on the couch

That’s just a few of my life’s pleasures. How about you? What brings you joy?

Our two cats spend a lot of time outside. During the winter, they leave the house to do their business, whether it be [ahem] toileting, or hunting. But when I want to leave the house, I always have to remember whether either cat is out, and then try to round him up and get him to come inside. We get some harsh winter weather here. How can I leave home without being sure they’re safe and warm inside?

So, my husband installed a door for them. He put it in one of the bay windows of our kitchen so they should (theoretically) be able to come and go at will. (This summer, he plans on putting the door into a pane of plexiglass, so that the window isn’t obstructed the way it is now. Anyway, I put a chair under the door on the inside, and they exit to the deck railing on the outside. Seems simple enough, right?

Kokomo, who is nearly twelve years old, is ok with this arrangement. He sits on the chair and stares at the door for about half an hour, then pokes at it with both paws for another ten minutes. Then, when he finally gets it to swing a bit (it’s easy … hardly any resistance) he pokes his head out and makes his exit.

Bob, on the other hand, will only use it if he can’t get anyone to open a ‘people’ door for him. I know he knows how to use it, because I’ve seen him scoot out as well as back inside. But he’s recalcitrant about it.

Here is Bob, sitting on the deck table just outside his door. See how well it’s set up for him? The table is on the outside, and I’ve even got a towel-covered chair (hey- those are ivory seat covers!) for them to climb in on. Look at him sitting there, waiting for me to open the door!

He’ll wait and wait, and finally come in through the cat door. The little bum! At least now I never have to worry whether they’re in or out. And I don’t really care whether my neighbor keeps Mokie all day (as she is wont to do) because I know that when she lets him out, he can get into our house whether I’m there or not.

Now – if I could just work out a similar system for my big dogs, I’d be happy!

They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, and I tend to believe it. Of course, watch an episode of The Dog Whisperer and you’ll see right away that old dogs can learn lots of new tricks.

I’m not an old dog, but I’m no spring chicken (sorry for the mixed metaphor), and when Ultimate Sportsfan told me he wanted to go skiing with some friends, I was skeptical. I’d been cross-country skiing when I was very young, but I’d never been downhill skiing.

USF assured me it was fun and easy to learn. He promptly signed me up for ski lessons and booked a flight to Breckenridge. I was worried about going down a mountain with two thin sticks on my feet, but I consoled myself with the accommodations. We stayed in a 6500 square-foot house with a hot tub, TVs in every room, cozy fireplaces, and a gorgeous view of the mountains. It was worth risking my life skiing to come “home” and soak in the hot tub.

So Saturday morning I got up, put on 10 layers of clothes, squeezed my feet into the most uncomfortable boots in the world, and hobbled to ski school. I was in the beginning class, but at least it was all adults. At first I was the worst skier in the class. The instructor pretty much had to hold me up, but gradually I caught on. By the end of the day, I was doing turns and wedging like a pro—well, a like first time skier, anyway. I even skied down a green and fell only once.

Sunday I woke up sore, but I was determined to ski with everyone else in the group. They promised to stick to the easy slopes, and that worked for a while. But in the end I just didn’t have enough control to stay with everyone else. Finally, it was just me and USF. He stuck by me the whole time, even though he must have been bored going down the same run time after time (I don’t like to change). He encouraged me, too. I only fell 4 miserable times, and each time he pulled me up.

That’s a hero for you. What great things—large or small—has your hero done lately?

The theory used to be, if you gave one million typewriters to one million monkeys they would eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the Internet, e-mail and especially text messaging, we know this is not true.

Yesterday I received the newsletter from a writer’s organization to which I belong, and on the back page was an error. Not a typo, which I can easily forgive, but an error of understanding on the editor’s part — in a two-inch high headline — and this particular error is becoming increasingly common. It drives me nuts.

Because I believe you can’t complain unless you’re also willing to do something about the problem, I’m going to give a refresher lesson. I will gag my inner snark, the persona who wants to yell “Hey numbnuts! For the five millionth time, if the baby is crying and he doesn’t want a bottle, check his friggin’ diaper!” and instead bring out my kinder, gentler side, the part that realizes some of us have been out of school a little longer than others, and some of us just plain slept through English class. To be a fiction writer you need to be a storyteller first and foremost, not a grammarian, but you also want to be understood.

Before you run screaming in fear of complicated grammar rules, what I’m about to offer are simple mnemonics. Memory tricks help me remember all of the Great Lakes (“HOMES”) and correctly spell a certain city in Illinois (in my head I hear “cheek-uh-go”).

A lot vs. allot. “Alot” as one word, one L, is never the correct spelling, under any circumstances. “Allot” as one word with two L’s is correct if you’re referring to the word that’s related to allotment. To allot a share or portion, or to distribute by lot. If you mean “a lot” as in “we learned a lot” or “we had a lot of fun” it is always two words. We had a load of fun. We learned a great deal.

Loose vs. Lose. Think of each “o” as a coin. If you have loose change in your pocket, you have multiple coins to jingle together, therefore two O’s. If you lose all but one of your coins you only have one O left. I’ll try to come up with tricks for choose vs. chose, advice vs. advise, and breath vs. breathe, a trio whose common misuse also drives me nuts.

You’re vs. Your. Ah, the much mangled and misused apostrophe. What many of us have forgotten is that this simple punctuation mark often takes the place of one or more missing letters in a contraction. If the word can be separated into two words, such as “you’re” separated into “you are,” then it always needs an apostrophe. A possessive, as in “your book,” does not need an apostrophe any more than “her book” or “his book” needs one. It’s on its way. Errors involving the apostrophe could take an entire post all by itself so I will simply direct you to the Apostrophe Protection Society, where there are simple rules on their front page.

Should’ve vs. should of. If you look up the simple word “of” in Webster’s you’ll find an entry a full third of a column long. Rather than me give all the meanings, think of what you’re trying to say. Should’ve known. Of known? Really? No! Have known? Yes! Should’ve is a contraction of should and the word “have” (as is would’ve, could’ve, etc.). So many people don’t realize what they’re hearing in speech and so they write it incorrectly. Don’t feel bad — I used to think chaos, as in chay-oze and kay-os, were two different words, and English is full of words that sound alike but are spelled differently and have way different meanings.

Etc. vs. Ect. Is this a simple typo or do people truly not realize that the full word is etcetera? In my head I always hear Yul Brenner in The King and I pronouncing it so I get the T in the correct place. If we’re not careful this could end up being mispronounced as often as ask is turned into aks, as in I gotta axe you a question.

If these little tricks don’t help and you’re still in doubt, do what I do when it comes to lay vs. lie – construct the sentence differently so you don’t have to use either one.

The offense: Snoring so loudly that she wakes her mother up.
The culprit:

Yeah, that’s right. My cat, my little cat, snores. This little wheezy sound that just cuts through the air like a knife. What’s worse is that she loves nothing more than to climb up on to my back or stomach and lay with her head next to my ear. This means the snoring is like a buzzsaw that echoes and vibrates through my skull.

Maybe I could try one of these things:

They work for humans, right? Except she doesn’t like things on her head (despite the photo of the accused).

Sigh. The things we endure for love.

I’m working out a story now which involves a heroine plotting revenge against the hero….who she blames for the death of her father.

Although I think I’ve motivated her fairly well, I’ve never been a big fan of revenge plots. I guess because revenge seems such an immature emotion.

I do think these types of plots are fairly popular and do fairly well.

Could you help me out here and tell me what you think? Immature emotion or okay if well motivated?? How do you vote?

Well, it’s a brand new year and it’s time to start looking ahead to some of the things that will be taking place in 2008. Last night I sat down to go over my calendar and make plans for the upcoming months. I don’t really have any big events scheduled so far. (No Disney World trip like last year. Sigh…) Though there is a possibility I might be attending the Romantic Times Convention in Pittsburgh in April, which I’m pretty excited about.

So, what about all of you? Any big events or vacations planned for the upcoming year? Anything on your schedule that you are really looking forward to? I guess those of us who will be doing the same-old, same-old will have to live a bit vicariously.